Forever Night
by ArouraLeona
Summary: Post-Timeskip & tournament. Gajeel, Lily, and Levy set out on a mission to destroy a kraken. Sure the mission seems hard, but deep in the water lurks dangers greater than a mere kraken. Ga/Le **Ch 15 "From the Ceiling it Hangs" Up**
1. Forever Night

Forever Night

Chapter 1

I was never the strongest. That wasn't my purpose and it wasn't my destiny and it wasn't my goal. Strength is important – no doubt strength is important – but I've always wanted something more than brute strength can give me.

Creation. Color. Light. Creativity. Subtlety.

Odd how a person can never see themselves change. Even when that change is drastic. Odd how I now find the sunlight oppressive and the red-starred night so captivating. I know why, of course, but it's still moves me to wonder.

I was on a mission two months ago. No big deal. Easy really. Could have done it alone, but the world is a changed place. Better if I take some natives along. The mission was to harvest mer tears and selkie silk. Some absurdly rich person was looking to create the most exclusive perfume imaginable.

Whatever. It was a job. It payed, and it was stimulating, which was what I needed.

We came upon the mer cove in the shadow of night. At night merpeople will often sleep on the surface of the water in order to bathe in the cascade of silver moonlight. A full-moon night, after midnight has passed, is always the best time to harvest mermaid tears.

I digress. We were at this cove … _I_ was at this cove. Bordered on two sides by cliff, and the other by a thick, green forest. The water captivated. Fascinated. The surface darker than nightmares; yet, sparkling with reflected starlight sweeter than dreams.

That was when I realized how much, exactly how much, I had changed. Anyone would find such a sight beautiful and awe inspiring. Because it was. But when I was full of daytime I never would have taken a still, black crescent of water over a flower-dotted meadow, dew-kissed in morning sunlight.

Now.

Now.

Now.

Now, I ache at the very thought, the memory of that cove. Of that water. Of those stars. My fingertips tingle, and my tongue darts out to taste the fresh, moss-flavored air. I want to stretch out on the bank of that water, body on the soft earth and fingers making swirling symbols in the black water. I want to stay in that place forever.

I've gone back twice now. Alone. I couldn't help myself. My feet found their way without conscious thought, and standing there didn't just illuminate the changes in me, but also the flaws. As much as I ache for it, as much as I love it, that place is too dark for me.

Still too dark, even with the shimmering silver.

I would have to do more. Try harder. Learn how to walk in shadow. To drink in the night.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello all. A warning; this isn't going to stay in the first person, but might feature a few first person cut ins. Chapters will likely be very short, and by doing that hopefully quick to release. Going on vacation for a bit though, so I'll be at least a few days away from a computer.

You've all been extremely supportive with my previous Ge/Le works, so I hope you enjoy this one as well.


	2. Holier and More Dangerous

Forever Night

Chapter 2

Holier than Your Halo; More Dangerous than Your Horns

"Yo, Shorty," he called across the crowded room.

Things were picking up again at the guild. There were more jobs on the board, and consequently guild members were more confident. People respected them again, and their guild emblem no longer inspired riotous laughter. And they'd even started recruiting.

Levy liked all the new members, but was close to none of them. Jet and Droy were doing well, though she didn't see them as often as she used to. She was slowly getting used to working solo. But she wasn't so used to seeing them as married men. But of course she was deliriously happy for them. That helped. A little lonely at times, but happy for them.

It didn't hurt that they were different people now. All three of them. All, all of them actually. The love was the same, the friendship, but they were different people. So she was doing what she could to embrace the difference in herself. This second chance.

A second chance to live a life she almost lost.

"Shorty!" Gajeel yelled again, skirting around a drunken rumble between the bar and her table.

She sighed to hide a telltale smile, "What do you need now?"

"Hear you got yourself a magic pond, and I need it. Be ready to go in an hour."

Pantherlily's sigh echoed hers as he removed his sword from his back sheath. Jumped. And smacked Gajeel upside the head with it.

"Moron. Ask her politely."

"Damn!" he swore, rubbing the back of his head, "why the hell did you do that?"

"You were being rude, that's why."

"I'm always rude," Gajeel smirked, showing his pointed canines, "it's why she likes me."

Heat. Her skin flushed. Her heart flickered. Her blood hummed. Her lips went dry.

"Well," Lily rolled his eyes, "it's not. She gets on to you all the time for your lack of manners."

Those red eyes flashed, and her breath went thin and cold. "I'm rude. She talks to me anyway. So she likes me because I'm rude. Why in the hell else would she?"

"She likes you because she's nice, there's a difference," Lily informed him.

She thought her cheeks might be steaming with the heat. They were too busy bickering. They didn't see.

_Thank goodness._

She shook herself. Time to interrupt them. Anything to stop the backwards compliments and … and well. The other. Her unspoken confession. Her not-so-secret secret. She couldn't listen to them carelessly drip _like _from their tongues.

"Why do you need me?"

_Swallow. That's it. Don't let it show. Don't let it show._

Gajeel folded his arms and smirked. Lily folded his arms and smirked. They were so well suited for one another. Adorable. Scary. But adorable.

"That pal of yours, the one that used to have the dumbass hat-"

"Droy," Lily said.

"Jet," Levy corrected.

"Whatever. He said you knew where water creatures were, and we need a kraken."

Now she was interested. Krakens were rare and powerful creatures, though not intelligent in the same way as the merfolk and selkies.

"A kraken!" she clapped her hands together. "I've never seen one. Why do you need it? I can come with you? An hour? I'll be ready in thirty minutes. Fifteen even! Meet me at Fairy Hills."

She scrambled away from the table and darted for the door.

"Tol'ja she'd wanna come," Gajeel chuckled behind her.

"You were still rude," Lily snorted. "But you might be right. It might be why she likes you."

Pink tinted her flesh.

Running did that.

* * *

Author's Note: As previously mentioned, these updates will all be terribly short. More drabbles than real chapters, I suppose. Sorry about that. Ugh, Please review? (I hate asking for that when I feel that I'm not living up to my own standards...)


	3. Sawdust and Springs

Forever Night

Chapter 3

Sawdust and Springs

He was beautiful in the forest. The dappled sunlight and shadow that flickered through the leaves played over his olive skin and raven-wing hair. She assumed that he'd grown up in a cave, but he was made for oak and pine.

Pantherlily, too, came alive in the forest. His rounded ears twitched to catch the smallest sounds, and his whiskers trembled with vibrations she could not feel.

The two of them moved in such silence that they made her footsteps rattle for miles. They all three had their talents. Their skills. Stalking and hunting wasn't hers.

Solid script was.

She cast _silence_ around her and _hover_ at her feet. She made no sound and left no trail. Lily nodded his approval. Gajeel chuckled his amusement. His lips moved, and she read some foul-languaged compliment on them, but the _silence_ held, and she heard nothing.

She twisted her lips to wear one of his smirks, and his own lips went lax in surprise.

Lily made what was likely a sarcastic dig at his partner which set them off in a session of fond argument for no less than an hour. Levy heard not a word of it.

Six inches off the ground, she walked. Light step; light spirit. Their hands gesturing madly, and the morning sun tripping around them.

Yes. She'd gotten used to working alone. But there was something to be said for working in a team.

* * *

Gajeel was in a snit. Something – Levy didn't know what – had been said to upset him, so he walked in front of her and Lily. Strain hardened the line of his shoulders and pulsed in the veins in his forearms. She wanted to touch him. To put a hand on one of those arms. To put her cheek to the rough texture of his shoulder.

Elbow.

Well. She was hovering after all. So … shoulder.

Instead she picked up Lily, conscious of the self-satisfied smirk he wore. He was too cute for words, and, anyway, Gajeel probably deserved whatever it was he got. Pantherlily could be cocky and abrasive, like his partner, but he was also honorable and honest. He wouldn't say anything truly hurtful.

But he was a merciless tease.

Levy cuddled him and took comfort in the vibration she felt from him. Better if she stayed on his good side.

* * *

They reached the way-station as red-and-gold dusk saturated the sky. Whatever argument had separated her two companions during the afternoon had blown over by nightfall.

Levy put together a hasty meal, and Gajeel decimated a few cords of firewood to warm the place while they slept.

"You know," Lily told him, "it would make more sense for you to turn your arm into an ax. The dragon blade is overkill."

"No such thing as overkill," Gajeel grunted while hacking at the defenseless wood.

"I think there is," she laughed. "Give it a rest! There's nothing left but kindling you nut-brain!"

Lily shook his head to hide his surprised snort. Gajeel looked up at her in annoyance. "Nut-brain? Listen Short-stuff. I'm not taking shit from you today -"

"Tomorrow then?" she asked with a sweet smile.

Lily gave a full belly laugh and patted her on the shoulder, "Well done."

"Gihihi, I wanna see you try bookworm." He put the wood (shavings) into the fire pit and tussled her hair, "I bet it'd be fucking hilarious."

Lily was shifting his things and readying the top bunk for himself. Levy caught the twitch of his whiskers. The brief pressing of a paw to his nose. The small shudder that started in his shoulders.

Laughing.

"I'll see if I can make you laugh then," she adjusted her headband and stood. With him kneeling in front of the small fire, and her upright by his side, they were just the right height. Right on the same level.

_He _would have done it.

She could do it.

She would do it.

She flattened her hand and bopped him on the head three times. Flattening his spiky hair. Grinning that grin she remembered from his many acts of condescension.

"Don't worry, Gajeel. I'll try not to show you up too much."

Lily gave up on hiding his laughter and the old springs in his bed chuckled along with him. Levy, too, openly expressed her own pleasure, which called forth a petulant scowl on Gajeel's face.

In one smooth movement, he lifted her from the floor and threw her over his shoulder. Two steps and he dropped her on her own bed, her springs adding to the general noise. His scowl cracked, but only slightly.

He was a tough-guy. He had to look like a tough-guy.

She had to wipe hysterical tears from the corner of her eyes.

"Sounds like a shit load of fun," he told her in a voice that didn't quite carry over the merriment. Meant for her ears alone (though she was certain Pantherlily heard as well).

Still giggling she wrote _log_ between them, and a small piece of wood fell from the air onto his steel-toed boots. "The fire's gone out already. Maybe a second try will work out better."

With eyes like lava and a grin of sharp glass, he broke the log in two. Then fourths. Then eights. With nothing but his bare hands.

She would have been more impressed if she hadn't already been aware of his strength.

Strength isn't everything, she wanted to tell him, but she liked the way his hands held onto the logs as he placed them in the firepit. She liked the size of the knuckles and the tight lines of his tendons.

Strength wasn't everything. But it was something.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm really liking the current arc of the manga for the little bits of insight into the new Gajeel. Sure he's been steadily softening since pairing with Levy for the Exams, but there's a special sort of camaraderie that's grown in him since becoming a member of Fairy Tail B. I think he'll be a little less rude and a little more sarcastic, we'll see how well I can work with that (I hope I do okay since Gajeel has always been my favorite character to write!). As always, thank you for reading and please leave thoughts, comments, complaints, and praise (especially that last one!) in the reviews!


	4. Didn't Know Better Didn't Try Harder

Forever Night

Chapter 4

Didn't Know Better; Didn't Try Harder

I wonder; time is a fluid thing. Easily disrupted by ripples of disruptions made when a tiny grain of sand touches the surface of a fraction of a second. The big things … well we all consider the big things. What if I never went in the first place? What if we stopped sooner? Stopped later? What if I knew nothing of the cove? If he never saw the job on the board?

But little things are important too.

The log. The kindling. Lily taking the top bunk. Going to bed earlier. Going to bed later. Eating only rations. Eating at all.

We were moving closer together. My shadows and his highlights. My skin remembered the softness of his hair against my palm, and the way his smiles were softer. Sometimes. Maybe half the time. But often with me.

And Lily, but his smiles would always be soft with Lily, so that didn't count.

We were occasional partners and every-day friends. Of course I was optimistic. Of course I closed my eyes that night with sparkling champagne in my veins.

Of course, of course. I'm me. I'm happy. I'm smiles and laughter and giddy dancing and spontaneous hugs. No one would be surprised and very few would blame me.

Except me.

Me.

I failed them.

I loved them.

_Love_ them.

But I let them down.

"Fairy Tail," my hand is over my guildmark. "Fairy Tail. I won't come back. I won't come back alone. I promise. By this sign, I promise.

"I'll bring them home."

* * *

Author's Note: So yeah. Apparently this is taking a depressing turn. But then, that suits my style, so such is life. Short update, so quickly it comes. Thanks for reading, thanks for reviewing!


	5. Raindrops

Forever Night

Chapter 5

Raindrops.

Leaving the waystation was an ordeal. Gajeel wasn't exactly a morning person, and Lily's need to tease latched firmly on to his partner's surliness.

"Stop yapping and start walking," Gajeel had a hand over his eyes to block some of the sunlight, "we're running behind schedule."

"We wouldn't be," Lily reminded him, "if you learned to get out of bed at a decent hour."

"We had a schedule?" she asked.

"Course we did," he yawned, "client wants the thing Monday."

She squeaked and stopped in her tracks, "_Monday_? That's in five days! Two to get there, two to get back since you're too … ah, since we … since we can't take a train-"

"Fucking trains," he grumbled.

"That leaves _one_ day to catch this thing! A kraken … we don't even know if there _is _ a kraken there, and it likely won't be in the cove itself, we'll have to go further out to sea, but if there is …. do you know how _dangerous_ a kraken is?"

"Not as dangerous as me."

She couldn't see him, but she could see the cock-sure grin on Pantherlily's fuzzy little face.

"We think that the mermaids and selkie's you found should be able to tell us where the kraken is. And we know there is a kraken there because we smelled it on you."

"Yes as dangerous as … what? You _smelled _it on me?"

"Yep," Gajeel hadn't stopped walking. She jogged to catch up.

"Not much," Lily reassured her, "but it was certainly there.

"How in the _world_ do you know what a kraken smells like?" she asked, incredulous.

"Well, they eat whales don't they? You smelled like squid, but not really, octopus, but not really, and whale rot. Not exactly high magic, Bookworm."

"Okay, fine, but _capturing_ a kraken _is_ high magic! At the very least it takes time. It must be done properly by weakening the creature through lost of food and over-work, then baited, and then finally captured. It's a patient task...

"But I don't know why I'm surprised. Why would you do things the proper way? Of course you're not going to be patient," she threw her hands up in disgust.

"That's why we brought you, Shrimp," Gajeel turned so she might see his sharp grin.

The rubies set in his narrow eye sockets burned. She swallowed. Shamed. She wasn't frightened of him. She _wasn't_. She was the opposite of frightened of him, and he knew it.

Sweat rolled down the back of her neck and soaked into her collar, "Don't call me Shrimp."

It was a weak response.

"But krakens," the corners of his eyes crinkled and his cheeks stretched, "really like shrimp, and little girls too-"

"-and you did say we need bait," Lily, adorable Lily, finished.

_Adorable, my butt._

The three of them stood. Still. Silent. Under the noon sun while gray clouds rolled to cover the muted-blue sky.

_Well_, she thought, _that's not at all ominous._

"We'll see about that," was what she said aloud.

When the rain fell, she only made one umbrella.

* * *

Author's Note: Progress. Progress but not much. Thanks everyone for reading thus far, though by the extreme lack of comments ... well I can tell this isn't exactly appealing to many of you, which makes me sad. Not sure if it is the story itself, or the drabble style, the first person cut-ins, or something else. I hope I can make this more appealing to y'all in the coming chapters.


	6. The Past Follows the Future

Forever Night

Chapter Six

The Past Follows the Future

We learn new things every day. Or we try to. I try to. There's no point, I think, in living a life without learning.

It's easy to forget, though, on sunny days surrounded by tankards of ale and the sounds of raucous joy, that knowledge is like anything else:

Changeable.

Uncertain.

Not always good.

Pleasure and pain.

It hurts.

Life teaches many lessons. Lessons for the body. Lessons for the mind. Lessons for the heart. And there's pleasure and pain in each one. But for this, this lesson...

Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain in all, and all because I forgot the most important lesson:

It's not always sunshine and fairies.

Some days it's rain on black water.

And krakens.

* * *

Author's Note: Due to the fact that this chapter is ungodly short, I'm updating this with chapter 7 as well. Fortunately for me, though perhaps unfortunately for the three people actually reading this, this weekend is the Beta Weekend Event for Guild Wars 2. I've only been waiting for this for like ... 6 years, so all my time is going to that, no question. Probably won't update over the weekend. Might, weirder things have occurred, but don't count on it. THANKS AGAIN FOR READING! (And even more for reviewing :D)


	7. The Properties of Water

Forever Night

Chapter Seven

The Properties of Water

They reached the bank of the sea cove under a curtain of hard rain, their way and destination lit by bright crashes of lightening.

Levy decided to forgive Lily. It was impossible to let him shiver and clutch at his rounded ears in fear. No way to pretend not to see the small cat pretend to be unaffected. He was trying to be tough. She wasn't sure why, it wasn't like Gajeel would care or dislike him – that seemed completely impossible – but the cat seemed determined to tough it out.

Which was sweet, in a stupid way.

She made him an _umbrella_ like the one that shielded her head, and gave him a gift of _silence_. His look of gratitude was enough to justify her forgiveness.

She didn't make a thing for Gajeel. He could rust.

"Are we supposed to go in with it raining like this?" she asked him.

"Not much choice," he said, but his glance back to her and Lily was a shade softer than his voice. He was worried, though not for her. Lily was not a happy exheed. Levy was worried for Lily too, but the fact that all of Gajeel's concern was to his cat and not to her made her feel …

Strong. He didn't worry that she could do it. He didn't worry that she could keep up.

_It's about time._

"All right then," she said. "Since I'm guessing neither of you can breathe underwater," she held her hand up and brushed it across the air in front of her, "_Bubble." _She stabbed, "_Air."_ Second hand raised, forming a circle with the first, "_Secure_."

A second time.

A third.

Mostly translucent spheres formed over their heads and filled with air, while collars attached themselves to the base of the balloons to secure them to their throats with no openings.

"They're open enough," she told them, voice muffled through the bubble, "to let oxygen in and what you breath out, out. So don't worry about that. Gajeel, you'll sink just fine, but me," she waved a hand over her waist, "_weight_." She smiled and pointed at the word wrapping around her, "I'd float. Lily?" she asked, "Do you want one, or I guess Gajeel could keep hold of you?"

"No problem, shorty," Gajeel said, when Lily didn't automatically answer, "I've got him."

Thunder crashed, and the bubble of air trembled around Lily's small head. He wanted, she could tell, to grab hold of his ears, but couldn't. Guilt and pity stabbed through her.

"Let's go then."

She slipped into the water, barely able to tell where the rain ended and the sea began. There were no mermaids drifting on the surface this night. No selkies playing under the moonlight. Just lightening touched darkness. And quiet punctuated by thunder.

She was probably scared, but it was hard to really be sure since excitement was the emotion that burned in her gut and flushed her cold skin.

She'd never dare to hunt a kraken on her own. She probably shouldn't be hunting one now, even with Gajeel. But. But.

But.

The weight pulled her down, and Gajeel sank with her, and she lost sight of rationalities and reasons and common sense. Hundreds of people had tested themselves against the great monster of the sea, and only few had succeeded.

But she was smart. Gajeel was strong. Pantherlily was clever.

And they would hunt the kraken. They would defeat the kraken. And she could stand up tall against the likes of Erza and Laxus and Natsu and all the others. _They_ had never hunted a kraken. She would be more than a 'Bookworm'.

More than someone continually left on the sidelines while the more powerful stood up for the guild. She didn't realize before this how much she wanted to take her place up front, but she did. She did. She wanted to impress them as they had all impressed her.

This would do it.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that's chapter 7, ending my double upload for the day. Same notes as 6, busy with the GW2 beta Saturday and Sunday, but I'll update as soon as I can. (As short as these are, it shouldn't be long, though the chapters are going to start getting longer from here on out ... except for the first person insertions, those are going to stay short, no doubt.) Have a great weekend everyone!


	8. Predator Prey

Forever Night

Chapter 8

Predator. Prey.

It did not take long for her eyes to adjust, and she suspected it had taken Lily even less time. He was the one directing their movements. Once the sound of thunder had diminished, and the lightening faded, he had indicated a desire for a weight of his own, and Levy obliged him. He now walked on the sea floor in front of them, leading her and Gajeel to wherever he thought best.

Gajeel's 'plan', as it were, was to find a nearby chasm, which Lily claimed they found on a map in the guild library. (The very idea of Gajeel _inside_ the guild library looking at something that resembled a book gave her a headache. She never would have thought such a thing was possible.)

Levy put a hand on Gajeel's elbow, and let a lightly glowing banner hover before his eyes.

_Can you smell it?_

He shook his head.

'Mermaids first,' he mouthed. Or maybe said. The membrane would allow some sound to escape, but the water between them was too thick for that.

Pantherlily stopped. Looked left. Looked right. Looked behind him.

Gajeel was already turned with his sword in hand.

The water was too thick, and – strong as he was – his sword-arm not used to fighting through the resistant water.

The water was too thick, and she could see no enemy. They had left the cove, entered the sea, but it was still too shallow for krakens. Still too shallow for any of the great monsters of the water.

And she could see nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

But that nothing lifted Gajeel into the air –

_WATER_

And sent him flying.

_Swimming?_

Tossed him for several meters before his natural weight had him on the dirt.

Pantherlily, taller and dense with muscle, dashed forward, his own sword in hand.

He was also tossed. By nothing. Levy could still only see nothing.

The water vibrated with movement. Vibrations that shook her. They grew and grew like the birth of an earthquake and rattled her bones.

In her ears those rattles became words, rolling up her nerves and tightening her gut.

_Only the dead belong in the sea, Humans. Only corpses and lost souls._

_Only the dead belong in the sea._

Her heart stopped with surprise and fear, but her body moved and her magic leaped with purpose.

_Light_, she yelled within her air balloon, and the dark sea brightened. Morning was born in an place where only night lived, and revealed a shadow with two crescent-moon eyes.

"Umibouzo," she yelled, naming the creature for what it was. "We do not wish to disturb you-"

_I despise those who trespass on the water's surface_, it's words tripped along her nerves. _And you three would dare to walk on my ground. _

_Only the dead belong in the sea._

Gajeel and Lily were both on their feet, dashing forward to strike at their enemy once more. Levy threw up a barrier to stop them. To attack directly was foolish. The Umibouzo could not be defeated by mere physical attacks.

A tentacle arm reached out to lash against her barrier and was repelled.

_You must drown_, it told her.

She shook her head, "These aren't your waters, this isn't your ground," she told it. "You have drifted far from your home seas. You are a monk of the Eastern Oceans," the crescent-moon eyes narrowed and sharpened, "and this is the west. This is not your water, and we are not your prey."

It wasn't the best idea in the world. To anger the Umibouzo was to give it power, but she'd read a few of its legends in the past, and she was sure that its power was tied to its people, the power it needed to protect the lost dead who worshiped by its waters. And those dead were hundreds of miles away.

It struck out again. And again. And again. But each time her shield held. Neither Gajeel or Lily dropped their weapons. Neither Gajeel or Lily dropped their eyes. Both were tense and both waited, but eventually the creature tired or grew bored of its assault. The head-like portion of the shadow rolled on the round body.

_The water tastes different_. The vibrations of the words were weak; a whisper.

"You've drifted far from home," she told it again. "And your lost souls wander on the other side of the ocean."

_How long have I fed in this foreign land?_

She thought, wondering how to answer. "A ship disappeared off the coast …" she hastily did the math, "210 tides ago. None had for years before. That could have been you."

_Four-hundred tides have passed since I tasted wood of the sacred trees_, and this whisper was filled with longing and hunger and loneliness. _You speak the truth, small soul, I have drifted far. For hundreds of tides I have forsaken my duty, and must now return. _

_Only the dead belong in the sea,_ it repeated, and she went stiff with fear, _but for you I allow this one exception. But, small soul, I am not the only one of the sea-folk who dislike landwalkers. Many of us desire the taste of their ships, and many more the taste of their flesh. Beware._

The shadow drifted away, and her light faded with its disappearance. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the weight at her waist.

"Umibouzo," she said.

Gajeel and Lily moved to either side of her and lifted her to her feet.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Gajeel said, and his bubble was close enough to her that she could hear his voice. Or maybe he shouted.

Or maybe her bones were still translating the vibrations in the water.

"Out," she said back, looking into his red eyes. "Out. If you mean out of the water, then yes. If you mean further inside, after the kraken, you are out of your mind. Sure, I could talk to the Umibouzo, it has a mind almost like a person. And sure, the kraken isn't so intelligent. But the strength of a kraken is so much more!"

"But krakens are solid," Lily reminded her as he popped into his smaller body. "Krakens can be stabbed and killed, like any other ocean creature."

"Like any damn creature," Gajeel corrected. "That shadow thing hit us, and that means the fucking thing could be hit back. You," he glared at her, "put up the shield before we could kill it."

She straightened her spine. "The Umibouzo is a spirit demon," she told him. "It cannot be killed, only tricked. You would have died without that shield!"

"Heh," he snorted, "not likely."

"I just saved your life!" she yelled. "You might show a little gratitude!"

Lily was laughing, but the sound was too soft to reach her. "You know that's not going to happen. He's upset that you got rid of the thing and not him." Gajeel had already started walking again. Pretending not to hear, "You showed him up."

"Well, I was right to do what I did."

"I believe you were," Lily's voice was calming, if distant. "But you'll never convince him." He shrugged, "You took all the danger, and because you locked him up, he couldn't help you."

"I didn't need his help," she scowled like a petulant child. She tried to make herself stop, but she couldn't. Why couldn't he let her be the tough one?

"But he wants you to need his help," Lily told her, putting an emphasis on the words that she didn't feel strong enough to believe in.

"I'll need his help again. I need his help all the time," she told the cat, "but this time he asked for my help. So, this time I'm here to help him, not the other way around."

"Your help to find the water," he reminded her.

"I could have drawn a map," she countered.

Again, that silent laugh, "We would have taken a map, but you insisted on coming along."

"Oh for the love of...! You ASKED. You are both so annoying!"

She walked away. Not really to catch up with Gajeel, but at least to avoid getting left behind. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lily's lips were moving, but she was too far away now to hear his words. And her bones and nerves were forgetting how to hear.

Once again, she was in the silent water.

She sighed.

"Stupid Gajeel."

* * *

Author's Note: So I got a little done and I figured, why not update. The Beta is having some login issues at the moment, so I had the time. No need to make y'all wait for no reason, right? Right. So, this is this. Little bit longer than the rest of them, which breaks up the weird style I was going for ... but at the same time, since the style is weird, maybe it's not possible to break it up? lol, no clue.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please review?


	9. The Sea King

Forever Night

Chapter 9

The Sea King

Time was fluid in the water …

She laughed. It was impossible not to laugh at such an absurdly stupid thought. She 'ran', or whatever you'd call it, to catch up with her partners and tugged on Gajeel's sleeve.

"Food!" she said, as loudly and clearly as she was able.

Lily nodded his agreement, and after a moment so did Gajeel. She beamed her joy at them with a grateful smile and created a shield to push back the water, banishing their bubbles as the walls sealed around them.

"I'm _starving_," she said in a happy voice. She manifested three hearty meat pies, three generous mugs of tea, one large word of _iron_, and one small but merry fire.

Deep down she was still a little miffed about Gajeel's response to how she handled the Umibouzo, but she decided to focus more on her success in handling the creature – no small feat – instead of his attitude. Besting one of the more powerful demons of the sea was something she could be proud of! Sure she didn't beat it with her fists or a sword or anything like that, but no one else she knew (except maybe Lucy) would have had a clue how to handle an Umibouzo.

They probably wouldn't have even known what the thing was, since foreign sea-creatures were hardly a common area of study.

She rolled her eyes, _And since _study_ isn't a common area of training for Fairy Tail mages._

So, she was proud of herself, and giddy with that pride.

"How far to the chasm?" Levy asked the other two while they ate.

Mouth full of metal, Gajeel pointed to his right, "Bout four miles that way, give or take. Smell's still faint, but the bastard's there, no question." His grin, full of teeth and shards of iron, was terrifying.

"So. How are we killing this kraken?" she asked. Not for the first time.

"Lop off the tentacles," Gajeel answered, "unstuff the head."

"Unstuff ..." she looked down at the remainder of her meat pie and sat it aside. "Unstuff the mantle, how?"

"For a Bookworm you catch on damn slow."

She bristled, but the grin told her he was teasing. Deep breath in, deep breath out. "I assume you mean to cut out the interior nervous system, but the mantle of a kraken is said to be _huge_. That will take a long time, and even with the tentacles removed, the thing will be deadly."

"Sword can be huge too," Gajeel looked away from her, into the water. "Huh. Maybe I'll just cut it in half. That could work too."

"Too fast for that," Lily was shaking his head. "Levy was right, we've got to weaken it first to slow it down."

"You realize there's no way we're going to get this done by tomorrow. If I'm right, and I am, the day's almost over. Either you're going to be late getting it back to your client, or we're going to have to take the train back."

Gajeel gave a small twitch, which might have been a shudder on a weaker mortal. "We'll figure something out."

"Hard to fit a kraken on a train," Lily said in a soothing voice.

"Hard to _carry_ a kraken. I'd think putting it on a train would be easier."

Lily shot her a dark look, and Levy gave him a sweet smile in return. Gajeel was mean to her earlier; she could be mean as well.

A ripple in her barrier caught her eye, and she saw movement in the water beyond her protections. "Gajeel!" she yelled as she jumped to her feet and lifted her hands in defense.

Gajeel had a sword for one hand and a ram for the other, and Lily was growling at her side.

The ripples grew stronger and her knees bent as she settled into her stance.

And then the enemy appeared, a merman, trident in hand, astride a brilliant red hippocamp, and she nearly fell over with a sense of relief.

"Marrei!" she called and the merman grinned and reined in his giant seahorse.

"Levy. The fish told me you walked the sea floor, but I couldn't believe it without seeing you myself. And with companions along," he spared a long second to study Gajeel and Lily, "Such a foolish trip for such a brilliant woman."

She could feel her partners' eyes on her, but she did not look away from Marrei. Merfolk were generally amicable, and over the past few trips Levy had struck up a fairly friendly relationship with many of them, but they were vain and fickle, and she would do her best not to make Marrei believe she thought anyone was more important than him.

"We're guild mages, Marrei, sometimes that means doing dangerous jobs for our guild."

"And what dangerous job do you do this day, Levy?"

"We, my guild mates and I, are hunting a kraken."

The hippocamp danced sideways, skittish at the very mention of the word, and Merrei's eyes widened while his blue-black tail twitched. "That is a dangerous job, and it gives me cause to repeat my previous statement: That is a foolish job for such a brilliant woman. I would expect you to realize the inevitable consequences for such a mission."

"I realize the possible consequences, yes. But, Marrei, I hardly think they're 'inevitable'. I am, as you say, intelligent, and my partners are physically very strong. I believe we have a chance. A good chance."

"I would not see you die in my waters, Levy."

"I will not die, Marrei."

"No," he agreed, and directed his seahorse closer to her wall, "as I promised, I will not allow you to come to harm here. But, I cannot make such a promise for your companions; the kraken is one of my subjects, and I will not allow landwalkers to destroy it."

Seals, sleek and dark, appeared at the Sea King's side, and Marrei pointed his long trident – made of sea glass and volcanic rock – at Gajeel and Pantherlily.

"Foca, Selo; take them," he commanded, and her barrier split before Marrei's weapon like it was made of nothing but wet rice paper and hope.

"No!"

* * *

Author's Note: Cookin' with gas now, I believe. I guess this is a bit of a cliffhanger ... so that's exciting. Anyway, thanks to **89niners** for being pretty much the best and most loyal reviewer ever. :D Very heartening and inspirational, that. Have a good week! I'll update ASAP, per usual.


	10. Mistakes

Forever Night

Chapter 10

Mistakes

I never thought it would happen. The cove was a place where I was comfortable. It was a place I understood, and that understood me. I had friends there, I had power there. It should not have happened. It should not have happened.

My friends.

My partners.

My partner.

Gajeel.

I had never, _never_ let anyone down as much as I did him. Twice now, twice now we were forced apart. Twice now I lost sight of him, knowing that he was going to be hurt. For me. Because of me. Because of my foolishness.

Krakens are dangerous. I knew that. That is a true thing. I thought …

Well I thought those who lived in the sea would find it dangerous as well. Those merfolk and selkies I had befriended had spoken of the kraken as a monstrous creature that they greatly feared. Told me stories, horror stories under the pale moon, that chilled my blood. My only concern was the danger of the kraken.

Not the danger of the Sea King.

Not Marrei.

Marrei was my friend. _Is_ my friend. I never thought, I couldn't think, can't think, couldn't imagine, won't believe that he could harm them.

"I will find them," I told the empty air above the cove. "I will come for you and I will find them, and I will bring them back. They are mine," I shouted into that air, hoping that one of the merfolk would hear and carry my message to their king. "They are mine and I will have them back!"

* * *

Author's Note: Short 1st person insertion. Should have the next chapter up in a few hours. Please review, and thanks for those who do! ;D


	11. Misbegotten Sunlight

Forever Night

Chapter 11

Misbegotten Sunlight

She landed on the shore, bruised and weeping. A day's travel reversed in an hour. Marrei commanded a wave to deliver her back to land, and no spell, no power she possessed could override his command.

Though she tried. For the whole hour she tried.

The sand under her scraped her flesh as she skidded over it. She'd clawed and fought against the wave so hard and for so long, that she no longer had the strength to fight the sand. To stand up and run back into the water.

Which wouldn't do any good. The sea king would wait for her, and he would do everything in his power to keep her dry.

He would not harm her in water. She had his word.

But on dry land she had no protections. And there were those who lived in the ocean with the power to walk the earth.

The selkies were his to command, like the waves, like the hippocamps, like the kraken. If she dared to stand against him, the selkies would rise up to fight her.

But she had to do something.

Grief spent itself quickly, and she scrubbed her tear-stained face with grubby hands.

"Okay Levy," she spoke to herself to drive off the sound of the incoming tide, "this is on you now. Gajeel might break free. He's strong, and I believe in his power, but there's no way he could get free of the water without drowning. So you have to help. You have to save them."

She rolled to her knees and studied the pink dawn spreading on the horizon.

"Okay." With her finger, she began to write her plans into the sand. Not yet spells. This would be complicated, and that meant she had to be solid-iron sure of her path and goals before pouring her magic into spells.

She was a solitary mage going up against a king and every one of his subjects on their home territory. That territory was inimical to her physical self. The very first thing that had to be done was protection. She could not help them if she was killed.

_So... how about this?_

She coded her ideas into her own personal short hand. No one but her could decipher it.

There was something … some idea. She wasn't sure it would work. She wasn't sure she would have the energy to keep it up, but she absolutely could not waste a day getting to him. Them. _Them._

She couldn't let herself get so single minded.

She stood, took out her pen and copied into the air the spell she had sketched out into the sand.

Subtle. It had to be subtle. Once set it couldn't use magic in a projective way. That would be felt by those creatures who dwelt below. If she ran, she would be followed. The selkies could wear human forms; they could find her on land. And there was no way she could best the merfolk in the water.

That left the air.

Wings unfolded before her, made of the pink and gold light of the dawn sky, and she brushed a hand over the feathers testing their strength and softness. She turned so that they would affix to her back. There was a brief stab of pain, and then she rolled her shoulders and felt those wings move like they were a part of her own body.

They were no longer magical. They were a part of her very self.

Passive.

Another series of symbols under the glowing nib of her pen, and she had glasses that would allow her to see into the water's depths. The glass took the setting like a prescription. The glass was solid and would do nothing else.

Passive.

Anything else, any magic she had to do for offense or defense would be active. That would get their attention. That would draw them to her. She couldn't afford that. Not until the last minute. Not until she had them.

Dawn warmed her skin. Dawn warmed her feathers. Her wings snapped and she felt the joining muscles in her shoulder blades flex as she spread her wings to take in the early-morning breeze.

Deep breath. She'd done this before, but only in short bursts, and usually for fun.

"Fly," she whispered. She pushed herself free of the earth and took to the sky. "I'm coming."

She would find them.

She would _save_ them.

* * *

Author's Note: Ah, she's reassuring herself, but will it do any good? We'll see. Also, I would love to be able to fly, even if I only had my natural strength and stamina. Just to have wings to fly on my own. How cool would that be? Cracked is right, of course, it has its drawbacks, but ... flight. Worth it! Anyhow, Please Review! And thanks to everyone reading!


	12. The Miracle of Flight

Forever Night

Chapter 12

The Miracle of Flight

It's inexplicable that I could feel such joy.

Why did I wait until I was fifteen to feel this? Why did I wait so long to try? I've thought about it before, but … Well, I'm fifteen now, and this is my first flight. No sense on dwelling on the past.

My first flight. My first wings. Why would anyone choose legs when one could create wings?

Ah. That might be it. Getting tired already and I haven't even been in the air for ten minutes. My bones are too dense. I'm no bird. My body is too heavy for wings. Or wings so small. Next time I'll try larger ones.

I laughed as I released the magic and fell into Cana's arms. Jet and Droy were fretting nearby.

Mira suggested that I use magic to make myself lighter. She was right of course, but I always felt a little wary talking to her. She could be so scary sometimes! All that leather didn't help.

If she'd just uncross her arms!

But I know that she'll be who she is. And scary as she is, I love her anyway. She's my nakama and guildmate. I can't imagine loving her any other way. So scary or not, I could always muster up a smile for her.

Joy and fresh air. Bright sunlight and tousled hair.

No hardship with the memory of flight still alive in my skin.

"I'll try that," I told Mira.

Erza was scowling. Glaring through the curtain of her red, red hair. She began a lecture on the inadequacies of _trying_, and the necessities of _doing._

I blushed.

Embarrassed. Maybe even ashamed.

I'd never be able to stand up to these other girls. I'd never be as strong as them. If I didn't know that they only wished to help me, that they loved me as much as I loved them … in their own ways … then I might cry.

As it was …

Well …

_Next time_, I resolved, _I'll do this alone!_

* * *

Author's Note: This should be a two chapter day. Formatting is being a little odd, even in the document manager. I hope it comes out okay, if not I'll try to re upload later. Thanks in advance for any reviews!


	13. Deep, Blue Sea

Forever Night

Chapter 13

Deep, Blue Sea

She was panting before she got a mile. This wasn't magic she often used. And it wasn't so much the magic as the physical exertion. Passive, she wasn't actually fueling the wings with her power. She had to use her muscles, her small muscles, to keep herself aloft.

She was in shape. But she was no Gajeel or Elfman or Natsu. She wasn't sure she could manage to lift Wendy, but these wings demanded her to lift herself.

And _herself_ was a bit larger than Wendy.

She'd tried decreasing her weight, but for some reason she'd never managed it. Or at least never been able to keeping it going. She wasn't really capable of changing her physical being. Limiting, but there it was.

If only she could. She could turn her legs into one of the merfolk's long, lovely tails. She could grow gills on her neck.

But she couldn't change herself like Mira, Lissana, and Elfman. She could only create external things. So she had the wings.

And the wings were huge. They had to be, considering the weight they had to keep aloft. But they worked, which was the important thing. They were _made_ to fly, in that it was hard to make them still, hard to land once she'd parted from the earth.

They would go into the furthest recesses of her endurance until she either willingly dismissed them, or until she passed out from sheer exhaustion. In practice, she tended to dismiss them. She never wore herself out to the extent that it endangered her health.

Now? In the field?

She expected she might get very, very close to the end of her strength. But not past. Not beyond. Not to the point where she lost consciousness. That, she couldn't afford. She had to retain enough strength to do all the important things that came _after_ she located her destination.

That worry was for later, though. Now her thoughts were primarily on what hovered under the glistening surface of the water.

So far, very little. She recognized several small, single-family dens, which housed merfolk for the most part, but there were a few that appeared capable of housing hippocamps or selkies. She saw little else outside of those dens.

She was lucky – so far – that most of the Sea King's subjects were staying indoors and, more importantly, below the surface. Seemingly unconcerned with what flew in the sky.

For hours she searched before she found it.

_There_, she thought, triumphant. _The palace of the Sea King. Now all I have to do is invade, find Gajeel and Lily, and escape with all three of us unharmed._

_No problem …_

She tried to smile. Her lips stretched out, but not up. Not succeeding in a smile.

_No problem._ _I'll smile after._

* * *

Author's Note: So here's the second of today's uploads. Formatting seems to be working better, but at this point, who can say? :D Again, hoping for the best when it comes to feedback. Please review, and continue reading! Hugs and kisses and all that other mushy shit! Next part, if you're watching the anime and not reading the manga the below has minor **_SPOILERS. Beware!_** Though I tried to be general enough that it wouldn't give anything away to those not reading:

And might I just add that today's update ... for those of you reading the manga and not watching the anime ... WTF. That was some awful shit with the girl, right? Like some SERIOUS shaming. I don't know what exactly's up with them, but I do NOT like grape-dude. He's a jerk. But it looks like Rogue might actually be okay. Thoughts?


	14. Magic Mirror in My Hand

Forever Night

Chapter 14

Magic Mirror in My Hand

The palace, she saw, was a great open structure. Beautiful with great stonework and filled with colorful sea grass and corals. There were merfolk with jewel-hued tails dancing in and out of the delicate structures, but – like those she had already seen – they seemed content to focus on what swam in the water than what hovered above.

_Okay. Here I go._

She took a deep breath. Traced a symbol over her mouth, and let her breath fill that symbol. Let it grow. The bubble formed, smaller than the one that she had used with Gajeel and Lily because she needed her glasses free to show her her surroundings. She could not afford magical light. It would give her away. It would waste her energies.

She needed her energy.

Another deep breath.

She drew another symbol. This one small, round; a mirror. She reached her right hand to touch the skin over her left shoulder, just beneath her fluttering wings. Her fingers brushed her guild mark, and her mouth formed a simple word:

_Find_.

The word emerged, solid and shining, sinking into the mirror. It twisted, compacted, and reformed as a reflection of her own guild mark. It shrank. And shrank. And dimmed.

But did not disappear.

They were here, but not close. Fine. That was fine. As long as they were alive, that was fine.

She pointed her toes and drew a final symbol. The wings vanished. There was a brief moment of hanging euphoria, and then she fell.

She fell.

Her stomach twirled in excited terror. Her lungs clinched, drawing the bubble small with her instinctive gasp.

She entered the water with very little sound. Her toes parting the water with little effort. She slipped into the water with grace.

But that was the only point of ease she would be allowed, and she knew it. She would not be able to hide herself for long. She had to move quickly.

_Now. Where to look first? Holding the two of them will be difficult, and so much of the palace seems very open. Beautiful though it is, I doubt open places are good for keeping prisoners. Will there be rooms underground?_

Through her enchanted glasses, it was if the water was as transparent as air. The buildings all had a slight transparency to them. Not exactly see through, but not exactly solid either. There were three areas that appeared thick with many walls hidden from the outside.

Three, and each as far away from the other as possible, forming a triangle on the deep-ocean side of the palace. The moment she entered one of those areas, the likelihood that she would be caught was pretty much 100%. She really, really needed to find them on the first choice.

_So, which one?_

At this distance, her mirror still showed nothing but that faint outline of the Fairy Tail symbol. It would be no help until she got closer.

Dangerous.

Necessary.

She swam.

She thought about using the weight again, but decided against it. There was a possibility that she would need to rise quickly, and the weight would hamper that. Not to mention that she shouldn't waste any more magical energy than she had to.

She was losing enough physical energy already.

Swimming wasn't exactly easy. Especially not after hours of flying.

She kept one eye on the mirror and another on her surroundings. Dangerous, dangerous. No question that her heart was beating hard and fast. How easy was that to hear? She wasn't even sure how well selkies and merfolk could hear. Merfolk with their humanoid ears, and the selkies with their seal ears. She'd made a study of many sea creatures after her first visit to the cove, but she remembered nothing about simple traits and abilities.

Not good. But she'd have to deal with what she had.

The water deadened her ears. By necessity, it could not do the same thing for the merfolk. They lived the vast majority of their lives in the water, and so their ears must be shaped to work well in that environment.

Selkies …

Well, they spent more of their time on land than the merfolk. Or at least leaping and playing on the surface. So maybe ….

But no. They barked. They 'spoke'. That meant they could hear. Not surprising. Not helpful either.

Still. She would manage. She was small. She could fit herself behind those grand columns of coral. She might not be fast, but she could be covert.

And she might not be strong, but she was determined. And it was that determination, along with her intelligence, that made her one of the most respected mages in her guild. She had vowed to save her guildmates, and she would do so.

There was no failure in her.

She looked at the mirror again. The symbol was larger, and less transparent.

_Good._

She passed some of the … courtyards? … and several sea gardens. Drawing ever nearer to the building closest to her.

_Why is this place so _big_?_

Her body was tense as she swam as quickly as she could. She couldn't waste a moment with being tired. Anything could happen at any time. She wanted to think that Merrei wouldn't kill them. That Merrei, who was always so lenient with her, would show some leniency with them.

But she wasn't sure.

She didn't know.

She thought probably not. If she were honest with herself: She knew he wouldn't spare them the way he spared her. Though she wasn't sure why exactly that was.

She had to make it. She had to make it. She had to make it.

_I will make it._

* * *

__Author's Note: So, things progress some. Though not much in the plot department. Not much to say at the end of this one, so ... thanks for reading, and please share your thoughts and review! Much love.


	15. From the Ceiling it Hangs

Forever Night

Chapter 15

From the Ceiling it Hangs

It was going okay. It was working. She was making progress. She was panting into her bubble, but she was still moving forward.

And then a child looked up. A child looked up and locked eyes with her. A child locked eyes with her and screamed.

And screamed.

And everyone knew, in an instant, that she had come for her companions. That she had come against the orders of their King.

The child continued to cry, but she managed to duck behind a line of waving sea grass. Too far away from that first room. Too far away from her goal. Too far away. She bit her lip and blinked away the tears. It was a set back, not a failure. She wasn't done yet.

_Gajeel wouldn't cry in this situation. Neither would Natsu or Erza or Lu-chan. I'm fine. I'm fine. I am fine!_

"Wall!" she called out with a flick of her wrist. Five times the word rang out, covering her in a water-free box. Another flick of her wrist and a push of her elbow pushed it outward. Widening the box. Enlarging it.

Fine. They knew she was there. No matter.

She dispelled the bubble. She retained the glasses.

The barrier would keep the merfolk and selkies, and whatever else Merrei had to send at her, out. Even if they got in – which they wouldn't – they couldn't swim without water. This cube of dry air was hers. Hers alone.

The selkies might be able to take on the shape of the human form and walk on dry land, but that was the extent of their magic. They couldn't fight with it like she could. She was a mage of Fairy Tail. She would not be beaten.

She walked and her box moved with her, splitting the water and making a path of dry sand beneath her feet. As she moved she picked up an crowd of spectators. They knew she was protected, but they watched for any slip she might make. Watched for failure.

_They won't find any._

She reached the first room faster than she expected. By that time she was surrounded by ten mermen and women. All looking very fit. All carrying sea-stone tritons like their king. But there were only ten. There could have been more.

There would be more. More would come. She knew. But that knowledge did not frighten her. She did not let it.

"_Shatter_."

The palace wall, beautifully formed out of tiny bricks of glossy, black volcanic rock broke at her command. No water rushed out to be pushed aside by her spell. This was a dry room filled with air. The perfect place for holding landwalkers.

A room designed for humans.

Or a dragon slayer and an exceed.

Her box blocked the outside water from entering, and she stepped into the room unshielded. The bright of the place surprised her at first. So different from the darkness outside. She removed the glasses and let her eyes adjust to the normal light.

There was a cat hanging from the ceiling.

"Lily!" she whispered. She cried out. She almost screamed.

He was hanging by his tail. His inner eyelids were closed. The outer eyelids remained open. It made him look like a creature possessed. Or tortured past the point of sanity.

There was no blood. She tried not to accept that no blood meant no pain. She would not hope for something that could not be true. She wouldn't break her heart on his wounds. Because … because, even unseen, there had to be wounds.

He was hanging by his tail.

"Wings," she choked out and flew to him. This time there was no internal argument, no memory of the fortitude of her friends, that could stop the tears. But she didn't let those tears stop her hands.

With one arm she lifted Lily's limp form and braced him with her shoulder. She didn't want him to fall when the knot was undone. The vertebrae inside his tail was broken in more places than she could count. She wasn't sure even Wendy could heal such damage.

In the end she sobbed and had to form a knife to cut him down. Shaving the fur off the skin didn't help. She had to cut the stone the tail was wrapped around and slip it out from the knot. Even then she couldn't unknot the tail itself.

She panted with the effort of holding him, trying to untie him, forming the knife, using the knife, flying-flying-flying, and her grief. And her fear.

Tired. Hungry. Weak.

Finally! He was loose, and she brought both of them to settle on the ground. She checked his pulse and his breathing. Both seemed normal. Outside of the tail and the unconsciousness he seemed healthy. Though he obviously wasn't healthy.

_Too much blood to his head. What do I do for that?_

She tried, frantically, to remember all of the medical texts she'd ever read. She knew it was bad for the brain, but she couldn't remember any specific way to fix it. That would have to be Wendy too, she guessed.

She looked around. Nothing to help her. Nothing at all. Only the bar that had held Lily and a lot of empty air.

She contented herself by holding him upright in her arms and stroking his back. Encouraging the blood in his head to flow downwards. She couldn't undo any damage to his brain, but she could try her best to stop any further harm.

It didn't wake him, but she couldn't wait. She shifted him in her arms and continued inwards, further into the building, searching for Gajeel. Not that she wasn't glad to have found Pantherlily, but Gajeel …

She walked. Then she ran. Desperation stopped the tears and frustration made her growl.

She had assumed they would be together. So her mirror expected that as well. It showed the symbol clear and large. It had found the guildmark. Lily's guildmark.

Lily's, but where was Gajeel.

She let out a small squeal of frustration and halted. Sat. With Lily in her lap and both hands free, she wiped the mirror.

Levy closed her eyes and brought her memories of him to the forefront of her mind. Formed an image of him.

The nose came first, line of piercings leading to the two, bright red eyes. The studs that punctuated his brow. The sharp chin. Strong arms. Thick hair. Smirking lips. Sharp teeth. All of him formed inside of her. She pressed her left hand to her heart and then brushed her fingers over the mirror's surface.

"Find." Her voice was barely audible as his reflection formed. Dimmed. Shrank.

But didn't disappear.

_Alive_.

She stood up. Turned in place. The image was clearest to the right of the hallway.

She ran.

Ran.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long! Had a guest over ... really no other explanation other than ... I was having fun? Yeah. Read and review and all that jazz. Thanks y'all.


End file.
